The Good Guys
by bubblesrox33
Summary: Everly Christmas is finally given her chance to put her training to good use as what she believes is one of the 'good guys'. Her very first mission shows her that being an Expendable doesn't just mean being a 'good guy' but strengthens her resolve nonetheless. She also never expected to be blind sided by a certain new recruit either but she can't say she hates it. Smilee x Everly
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

People usually take one look at me and write me off. I have a thin muscular build, average height at about 5 feet four inches, long dark hair and eyes to match. One glance and I'm deemed as 'delicate' but they don't know who my father is. I'm twenty-one years old and nineteen of those years were spent doing rigorous training in mixed martial arts and weapons. It was the only way my father knew I would be safe when he was away.

Of course, the common misconception of my lack of skills and fighting abilities was done on purpose, but that doesn't mean I liked it. I wasn't allowed to tell people who my father was, let alone my family background. I wasn't allowed to show or use any of my skills unless it was an emergency and since my father was good at keeping my identity hidden from his enemies, the situation never arose.

I often spent my time training while my father was away because I wanted to follow in his footsteps. We had many arguments about it because he didn't want me anywhere near the kind of work he does but he should have thought that one through before putting me through all that training. I was ready and I was going, with or without him and by the things he told me about his last mission, it was without him because Barney Ross, the leader of the Expendables, disbanded the team.

I knew the Expendables pretty well; they have become my family over the years. So when I was told that Caesar was shot and in a coma, I went to the hospital right away. I've lost quite a bit of family through the Expendables over the course of my twenty-one years and I didn't want to lose anymore.

So that is why I found myself in the hanger that served as the Expendables home base. I was waiting for Barney to show up because I heard through a couple of my sources that he was putting together a new team; I wanted to be on it. As I waited, I was attacking a dummy rigorously. I wore black cargo pants and combat boots, and a white tank, making it easier for me to move around. I was punching and kicking in a rapid sequence that almost looked like I was dancing with it, until I did a round house kick and took off one of the pegs sticking out.

"What are you doing here Everly?" I heard Barney call from the entrance of the hanger.

I turned toward him and saw his new crew standing behind him. I placed my hands on my hips and smirked, "What do you think?"

I frowned when he rolled his eyes with a sigh, "No, you're not coming."

I dropped my hands, "Why?! You know I'm good for it! I'm young, fast, agile, willing to take a bullet but smart enough not to need to. That fits your criteria doesn't it?" I asked, walking over to Barney, completely ignoring the people behind him for the moment.

"Why? Because your father would kill me, that's why." He said and walked over to my duffle bag, throwing it to me, "Go home."

I let the duffle fall to the floor, "No. I'm going and you can't stop me."

"Don't make me call him Ever."

I rolled my eyes this time and crossed my arms, calling his bluff, "Do it then but then he'll know about this new team you have going on and you don't want that do you?"

"You think he doesn't already know? You found out, what makes you think he didn't?" Barney was getting annoyed, I could tell but I refused to stand down. At my defiance he shook his head, "Do what you want, I don't care."

I knew he didn't mean it. He was going to try and find away to leave me behind but it was a small victory for the time being and I was going to take it. I turned back towards the new Expendables and just sized them up as I'm sure they were doing to me as well. They all looked to be in their late twenties, seemed pretty built and formidable. They had to be because Barney wouldn't accept anything less.

"So are we going to introduce or go on like strangers?" I asked, putting my weight onto one leg, "You already know me as Everly. Call me Ever though." I pointed at the only other girl in the hanger, "And you are?"

"Luna." She replied, stepping forward to shake my hand. She was a good four inches taller than me, "Saw you with the dummy. You have some serious skill."

I smirked, "That was child's play." I turned toward a tall guy with a shaved head, "And you? You look like an adrenaline junky….well more so than the rest of them anyway."

"You can call me Thorn and you would be right." He said, shaking my hand, "Maybe we can go rock climbing sometime?" His smile was charming but not really my type.

"Or maybe you can find someone else to go with." I said with a shrug of my shoulders, "Just a suggestion."

"Oh, you just got burned man." A Mexican guy said and shook my hand, "I'm Mars. Gotta say, I love the attitude." He winked and I laughed.

"Nice to meet you Mars." I said and turned to the last guy, "And who might you be?"

He was definitely the most attractive of the bunch. He had dark hair, blue eyes, scruff, and drool worthy arms. He was wearing a grey muscle shirt and black cargo pants and his whole look just suited him. He didn't look like the type to follow orders very well though.

"John Smilee." He said, not bothering to shake my hand like the others did.

I smirked, "I was wondering if any of you would have a full name. So what's your story?" I asked as I bent down to pick up my duffle, "Ex-marine? You look the part."

"Well aren't you good at reading people." He said as he walked past me to the lockers.

I followed him with my eyes before turning back to the others, "What's stuck up his ass?"

Thorn laughed, "Beats me. We all just met too." He walked to the table and set his stuff down, taking out a few things to see if they were in working order for the mission.

The others did the same so I thought I would follow suit. I went over to my locker and opened it up. It was filled with a few glocks – military grade – and a bunch of knives. As knives were my fathers favourite, they naturally became my best weapon as well. As I dug through my locker I noticed that my knife holster wasn't there and sighed. It must be in the office area, so I went to look.

It wasn't in the office though and it wasn't anywhere around the area either. I let out another sigh as I walked back out into the main hanger.

"Why don't you do us all a favour and get the hell out of here?" I heard Barney say and couldn't help but laugh at which newbie might be getting in trouble.

"Hey Barney, do you know where my…" I stopped short when I saw the people who Barney was talking to and it wasn't a newbie.

"Everly?! What are you doing here?" Lee Christmas, my dad, shouted, "Get your stuff, we're leaving."

I looked to Barney as he walked passed me, all he did was shrug and I glared. I obviously wasn't going to get any help from him. I turned back to my dad and narrowed my eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere except on that plane when it leaves."

"The hell you are!"

"Looks like another father daughter fight." Toll Road said before going with Gunner and Doc over to the newbies, most likely to heckle them.

"I am and there is nothing you can do about it." I said, crossing my arms.

"This is a suicide mission Ever. You know that don't you? Your mother would never want you doing this!"

"Well she's dead isn't she!" I snapped and immediately regretted it. I looked to the side so he would see the guilt flash through them but he knew me well enough to know it was there.

"Hey!" John shouted, gaining everyone's attention. He was changed now, into a green shirt and realtree pants. He was wearing a hat now too, "It's just a job."

I turned back to my dad, "You trained me well dad. I'll be fine." I said and walked closer to him, "Please let me go. You have to let me grow up." My last words were quiet but they seemed to speak the loudest to him.

"If anything happens to you, you know I'm going to kill him." He one hundred percent meant it too. It wasn't one of those joking empty threats that people usually say.

"You wouldn't be my dad otherwise." He hugged me tight.

He let me go after a moment and reached into his pocket. He took out a knife and with speed and precision, through it right by Mars' head and it embedded into a locker, "you guys can keep that. You'll need it."

My dad looked to me but didn't say anything more. It was just like when he left for a mission, no goodbyes were said because it was a silent promise that we would see each other again. This time though, the roles were reversed and I knew that he was feeling now, the anxiety that I always felt when he left.

"Let's go guys." He said and the four seasoned Expendables left the hanger.

"That was your father?" Thorn asked as I walked past him, Luna, and Mars to the lockers.

I locked eyes with John, as I pulled my fathers switch blade from the locker, "Yes." Was all I said as I turned to head deeper into the hanger to begin my search for my holster again.

I stopped when I saw Trench, leaning up against the aviation fuel. He was holding up my holster and I went and grabbed it from him.

"I'm surprised Barney didn't mention anything about you smoking next to the aviation fuel. You know its flammable right?"

He chuckled, "What makes you so sure he didn't?"

"And why are you coming along?" I asked as I strapped the holster to my hip.

"As a favour. Why are you?" He asked, taking a puff of his cigar.

I shrugged, "To make a difference."

"You could have joined the Marines for that."

I smirked and crossed my arms, "You know I'm not so good with following strict regimented orders. I would be kicked out just out of principle."

"Right." He said just as Barney was coming back into the hanger.

"Wheels up. Get your stuff and get on the plane."

I went back to my locker, grabbed all the knives that would fit in my holster and as back up, grabbed two guns as well. I got onto the plane with all the others and found a cot right underneath the dog tags of the lost expendables. John took the cot across from me, Thorn the one next to me, Luna across from him, and Mars at the end. Barney and Trench went directly to the cockpit.

It wasn't long before it got dark and everyone decided to get some sleep. Everyone but John, that is. When I lay down, I looked over at him to see he was still sitting up, arms resting on his knees. He was looking straight ahead toward the end of the plane. I watched him for a bit, not wanting to break the peaceful silence that took over the plane. This was probably the last bit of peace we would all have for a bit.

A half hour later, I was still watching him, sleep escaping me. There were shadows in his eyes and I couldn't help but wonder where they came from. There were shadows in all the eyes of the Expendables, my father being no exception but I knew what they came from. Lost comrades, lost family, lost friends, guilt at not being able to do anything about it.

I finally sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the cot so they rested on the floor. My shifting caused John to look at me and we locked eyes. We just looked at each other, not saying anything for a moment or two before I decided to break it.

"Why did you decide to accept this job?" I asked quietly, not wanting to wake the others.

"Why did you demand to be on this job?" He asked instead of answering.

I knew he expected me not to answer and could tell I surprised him when I did, "My whole life I felt like I was being trained for this. I needed this and I need to make a difference."

He was silent for awhile, "How do you know you're going to make a difference?"

I shrugged but smiled a little, "Because I'll be one of the good guys."

"That's enough for you?" He asked, leaning his head back against the wall.

Before I could answer, Barney came out of the cockpit with a clipboard. He glanced at me briefly before flipping through the papers attached the board in his hands. I'm not sure what was on it but I suppose it didn't really matter.

"Do you got a minute?" John asked Barney.

Barney looked at me before looking over his shoulder at John, "What do you need?"

"Tell me more about this guy we're going after." John didn't ask and I had to give him kudos for being so bold toward someone as intimidating as Barney.

Barney leaned against the wall at the foot of my cot, looking through the clipboard, "It doesn't matter. You were hired to do a job."

I knew from the stories dad told me that sometimes they went into a mission with next to no information and were expected not to ask any questions. It made missions hard but that was just the way it was, or so I've been told. However, that didn't mean I wasn't curious so I left the questions up to John and listened closely.

John swung his feet on to the floor and looked up at Barney, "Okay, how about answering why we're on this mission."

Barney dropped the clipboard and turned toward John, annoyed, "I owe you a salary. That's it. Why don't you ask Ever how this thing usually goes."

John stood up and levelled his gaze at Barney, "Tell me why we're going after Stonebanks."

Even though John was a little taller than Barney, Barney wasn't intimidated, "You have a tough time following orders don't you."

"If I don't know what they are, yeah." John looked around at everyone, briefly looking at me before turning back to Barney, "I know you don't give a damn about us…except maybe her…" He pointed behind Barney at me, "I get that. Just tell me why you want to take out these guys so bad."

Barney seemed to consider his words for a moment before turning and picking up a folder. He slapped it on John's chest, waiting for him to take it before walking back into the cockpit. John sat back down on his cot, looking at the folder in his hands and I went over to sit beside him.

He started flipping through. The first page showed us a picture of Stonebanks and after that there were a bunch of pictures of mutilated bodies from various parts of the world.

"How can someone be so cruel?" I whispered, softly running my hand down one of the pages. The sight made me queasy and I had to look away.

"It's the world we live in. You're going to have to move past this if you don't want to die." John said as he flipped through more pictures.

Finally he came to one of the last pictures, this one featuring Stonebanks with a very familiar tattoo on his arm. It was the same tattoo Barney had, the same one dad had. Conrad Stonebanks was an Expendable. I stood up and immediately started pacing. He was an Expendable which means he was just as skilled, just as deadly as the rest of them are. Only he's a bad guy which makes him all the more ruthless.

I didn't see John close the folder and stand up until he placed a hand on either side of my biceps, effectively stopping my pacing. I looked up at him and he must have seen the panic in my eyes because he ducked down to look into them.

"You need to calm down and clear your head. If there is one thing I learned in the Marines, it's that panic and a clouded mind will get you killed." He said quietly.

I nodded and took a deep breath, "Okay. I'm calm and I'm ready." I sat down on his cot again and flipped through the file, my eyes narrowing the more I looked through it, "We'll catch him."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Alright everyone, wake up and suit up. We'll be jumping soon." Barney said, waking us all up.

I sat up with a yawn, running a hand through my rumpled hair, "We'll be jumping soon?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, put on your chute." Barney said, throwing me a pack.

I got suited up and put the pack on and buckled it up across my chest. I looked at the pieces hanging off the pack and tried to figure out what they were for. There was a red tab and blue tab that meant something and there was a string hanging from the left shoulder strap.

"Okay, can one of you tell me how to activate the chute once we're in the air?" I asked as I turned to them.

"You mean to tell me Christmas never showed you how to do this?" Barney asked.

"He was more focused on hand to hand and weapons." I said and lifted the tabs, "So tell me, which one is which."

"Alright, you can't go jumping on your own." Barney said and searched through the cabinet at the back of the plane, pulling out a harness. He turned to John, "You've done a two person jump before right?"

He nodded and Barney threw him the harness. John came over to me, unstrapped the chute from my back and put the harness on me. I watched him the whole time as he reached around me, putting the straps where they needed to go. I couldn't help but breath in deeply when he got close. He really did smell good. He looked up from his kneeled position in front of me, when I took that deep breath and I nearly blushed in embarrassment. I thought I saw him smirk as he finished putting the harness around my waist and stood up.

"I feel like a little girl needing a chaperone." I said as I crossed my arms.

"If it makes you feel better, my first jump was done this way too and I was strapped to another guy." He said and turned me around to hook up my harness to his. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I like this arrangement much better."

Thank god my back was to him because I really did blush this time. I was also glad that everyone was still putting on their gear and was to busy to notice as well. I didn't respond to his little flirty comment. He was only teasing me now that he noticed me smelling him before. He helped me put on the helmet, goggles, and oxygen mask before putting on his own when Trench made the announcement.

"Thirty seconds 'til drop." He called out.

"Alright, let's go." Barney said as the hatch started to open.

"You ready?" John leaned forward and asked.

I nodded though it was only half true. I was nervous as hell. I've never jumped out of a plane before. The count down was coming to an end and I swallowed thickly. I was doing this. I was actually doing this.

"Jump with your arms and legs spread." He said and grabbed my wrists to get me ready, "When we get closer to the ground I'm going to pull the chute and when I say run, start kicking your legs, alright?"

"Alright. Just don't kill us. I'd like to see this mission through." I called back to him.

Then we jumped with all the others. John kept his hands on my wrists and hooked his legs with mine to help me keep them spread in a star jump. We were falling through the air but it didn't feel like it. It felt like we had all the time in the world and I didn't even feel that heart to stomach feeling one would get from a rollercoaster. It was actually exhilarating.

We fell for another few moments before we let the chute go and then we were gliding through the air. John let my wrists go in order to stir us in the right direction and I just enjoyed the ride. The nerves died down and I relaxed my body.

"How are you feeling?" He called to me, "Would you do it again?"

"I think I would yeah." I called back but unsure if he heard me since he didn't answer.

We were closer to the ground when he spoke again, "Start running okay?"

I nodded and started kicking my feet with his and we eventually landed in an open field, continuing to run. When we slowed down to a stop we looked around at everyone who just landed as well. John unhooked me and I took off my helmet, goggles, and oxygen mask.

"Oh my gosh! That was awesome!" I said excited as I turned to John, "I'm definitely learning how to do that on my own."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself." He chuckled.

I turned to the others, "So shall we get moving? We only have a small window of opportunity."

"Who's in charge here?" Barney asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You are." I rolled my eyes.

He nodded, "Let's go."

There was no time to recover from jetlag. We got to work right away which started out with surveillance. We were all in various strategic spots outside Stonebanks hotel, waiting for him. Luna was inside, waiting for her queue to walk out. Barney was sitting in a café across the street. I think I just spotted John stop at a news stand. I was jogging down the street, pretending to be a local out for a run.

"We're on." I heard Barney say.

I changed my course and started jogging by the hotel just as Stonebanks got out of his car. I 'accidently' bumped into him as he stepped toward the hotel and dropped a tracker into his pocket.

"Scuze." I said in Romanian. I really hope I didn't butcher that and if I did, I hope he couldn't tell. I jogged away and held my hand up to my ear, "Done. Luna it's on you."

We met up at our home base after, which was a warehouse across town. Thorn had printed the pictures and we all met around a table with the blueprints of the hotel in front of us. The pictures were passed around.

"Man this guys protected better than the president." Mars said.

"It's like a five star fortress." Thorn said about the hotel.

"And he's packing too." I said, throwing the photos in my hand on the table, "When I bumped into him earlier, he had two guns strapped to his waist – two semi-automatic pistols, 9mm – and I think I felt one in his inside coat pocket. Nothing substantial but still something to be wary of – a small calibre hand gun if I had to guess."

"We're not hitting him at the hotel." Barney said, "There are too many guests."

"Then where are we going to hit him?" Luna asked.

"At the meet." Barney replied, "We'll hit him from all four sides and we'll hit him hard."

Thorn coughed a little, "Alright, so our plan is to what? Kick down the door and spray them with bullets." He asked.

"That's a great plan if it was 1985." Luna said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Barney asked.

"You heard me." Luna said.

"Look, I think John has a good plan. Less direct, more stealth which I think is what we need." I said and explained as delicately as possible, "Someone like Stonbanks is going to expect a full frontal attack."

Barney looked from me to John, "You have a better plan?"

"Much better."

"Alright, let's hear it." Barney said, surprisingly open to new ideas.

John nodded and looked to Thorn, "Thorn, you're up."

"Uh okay…I'm the plan." He said and took the blueprint for the meet was going down, "Okay first I'll hack the security grid main server, boom. By pass the motion detector lasers and biometric sensors, pow. Override the surveillance video and CCT systems and bam we are in." He explained and looked up at Barney, "It's child's play."

"Just like that?" Barney sounded impressed.

"Just like that." Luna replied.

"Just like that." John enforced.

Thorn leaned forward more, "Exactly like that."

I crossed my arms and leaned against the table between Thorn and John with a smirk, "It's a new age Barney. New technology. If you want to keep up, you're going to have to adapt."

Barney looked at the blueprints before looking at all of us again, "You better be right about this. Buh-bam."

"Buh-bam." Thorn said, smiling.

"Alright, let's go!"

John, Mars, and I were on the roof of the museum Stonebanks was meeting at, waiting for a signal to get moving. Thorn needed to hack into the security system first. Mars and John were on either side of me.

"Can you handle this?" Mars asked.

I smirked as I tugged on the rope, "This, I've done before. Don't sweat it."

And it wasn't a lie. This was exactly like rock climbing and it was one of the recreation activities that my dad and I did together that had nothing to do with training. Now I'm not so sure it had nothing to do with training though because it looks to be a skill that comes in handy. Leave it to dad to make any father daughter time into some kind of training activity.

"Sure you're going to be alright?" John asked.

I looked to him with a smile, "Positive. It'll be fun." I said with a wink.

"You have a strange idea of fun." He said with a shake of his head.

"Don't tell me you're not having at least a little bit of fun."

He didn't say anything but his smirk was telling enough. Thorn finally came on the communication device, saying he was into the system and that it was go time. So with no time wasting, we fell from the building and tethered our way down the rope. Once we reached the next level, we silently made our way across the lower glass roof to a door.

John waved at the camera and Thorn let us in. We crept around corner after corner, taking down whoever we saw. Mars stopped at one floor and John and I went down to the next. The next floor would be mine to take. I was about to veer off onto my floor but John stopped me. I looked at him curiously.

"Be careful alright." He whispered.

I brought out a dagger and swung it around my finger before catching the hilt and throwing it at the guard that just came around the corner. The guard fell to the ground and I smirked back at John while winking.

"I think I'll be okay."

"Don't be cocky. It doesn't become you." He smirked before moving down the stairs to the next level.

I don't know where all the flirting is coming from but I can't say I hate it. I obviously thought John Smilee was attractive from the moment I met him. I also like what little of his personality he shows me. He is definitely someone worth getting to know once this mission is over. Especially since this is one guy that I don't think my dad will be able to scare away.

I crept around the corner and threw a knife at the next two guards I saw. I ran as silent as possible, took the knives from their chests and kept moving. I didn't want to waste perfectly good knives, after all. Dad would kill me – they can get expensive.

I made it to the balcony that over looked the meeting and took the assault rifle from my back and got into position, "I'm in position."

Everyone else stated they were in position as well and then Thorn turned the power off. Let the show begin. I looked through the scope and shot my first target and then kept shooting everyone else that came into view. Once there was no moving target left in the room aside from my teammates, I put the rifle back on my back and swung over the railing and down onto the next level, then did the same thing until I landed on the ground floor.

I looked up onto the floor I just jumped from and saluted John before turning and heading back to the van. We needed to make sure we had a secure hold for Stonebanks. I knocked five times on the back door and Thorn opened up, letting me in.

"Success?" He asked.

"All thanks to you." I said and slapped him on the back, "Nice work there techy!"

It wasn't long until the others showed up with a passed out Conrad Stonebanks. We strapped him in securely and put tape over his mouth in case he wakes up. Luna started driving and it wasn't long until we hit the highway. We were on our way to meet up with Trench so that we could all get back home.

"Great job you guys." Barney said.

I sighed, satisfied and placed my arms behind my head, "Not bad for a bunch of newbies eh Barney?"

He chuckled, "Not bad at all."

We heard a groan and all looked at Stonebanks as he started to wake up.

"Why don't you just put a bullet in his head and be done with it?" John asked, not taking his eyes off the criminal.

"I second that." I said.

John reached over and took the tape off his mouth and sat back in his seat. Stonebanks looked kind of stunned to be in our company but he was even more stunned when Barney pulled back and decked him in the face. Barney would have no doubt done more but Thorn pushed him back.

"Wha-hoe!" Stonebanks shouted, "Good morning." He looked around at all of us while talking to Barney, "These your students? Hey kids! What did you learn today?"

"That John shouldn't have taken the tape off. You're as annoying in person as you are at a distance."

"I wonder what happened to the old crew." Stonebanks taunted, "Oh, that's right. They stuck their noses into other peoples worlds and got fatally injured. Now they're the deletables."

I couldn't take it anymore. The way he was talking about Caesar and as far as he knows, the other members, including my dad, it just royally pissed me off. So I took the rifle from beside me and before anyone could stop me, decked him in the face with the bunt of it. John took the gun from me and set it beside him.

"You have no right talking about them like that!" I snapped.

"What you can't take the truth?" He asked, "Listen closely. What they did, is what you're doing now and it's going to get you killed."

"Want me to shut his mouth?" John asked Barney.

"You're talking pretty tough about a guy who's incapacitated. Which is good for you." Stonebanks said.

"Is it?" John deadpanned.

"You cut me loose and I'll open your own meat shirt and show you your own heart."

"You're talking pretty tough for a guy strapped to a chair and outnumbered six to one." I snapped.

Stonebanks looked at me briefly before turning back to Barney, "Hey Barn. How about me and you settle this right here and now. We'll mix it up. It ends with you snapping my spine or me snapping yours. You know. Make it snappy." John snorted, "He thinks I'm joking. I'm not joking. You should see me when I'm angry. You'd be very impressed and very dead." He turned back to Barney, "So come on pal. Anything you want to get off your chest? Come on, lay it out. I can take it."

Barney refused to answer and be bated which is more than I can say about me. John kept shooting me looks, his eyes telling me to calm down and keep my cool. It was easy for him to do since he was sitting across from me. I tried too. Keeping my focus on him instead of the criminal on the other side of Thorn was somewhat working.

"Are you going to take me back to the 'has been' crew?" Stonebanks asked him, "Carve me up around a fire? Very tribal." He was speaking without any emotion at all and I'm wondering how he was even let into the Expendables in the first place. Surely they saw his sociopathic tendencies?

Barney leaned forward, "When we stop, I'm going to break every bone in your body and drop what's left to the hag."

Stonebanks actually smiles, "The hag. That's so funny, he made the big time." His emotion dropped again and he levelled his stare at Barney, "I'm a war criminal. Do you think you can just deliver me like a package?" He shook his head, "We were close once."

Stonebanks turned to the rest of us to tell us a story, "We started this whole Expendables thing together. See, I got the mark," He turned to show us his arm, "A bit faded but we had a falling out."

"You went dark." Barney said lowly.

"It's a dark business Barney. Don't pretend you're not in it. The baddest survive. Those are the rules; I didn't make them, that's just the way it is. You see Barney here was content to just work for the small end money. As an employee. Now being boss is more lucrative but that's a concept that somehow eluded you. Plus you have that pesky moral conscious."

"So he's human. That's more than I can say about you." I defended. This guy was grating on my last nerve.

"You think he's the good guy? You think you're the good guy?" Stonebanks asked, hitting a nerve. I balled my hands into fists and closed my eyes. I relaxed a little when John nudged my foot with his own.

"Keep talking while you can." Barney tried to goad but it didn't work.

"Sure." Stonebanks shrugged, "You have a conscious and that makes you weak. Success, real success? Is being able to do the things that other people are not."

"Not everyone is as sick as you." Barney said.

"Oh, but you are. In fact, I'm sure little feisty bitch over there is too. How about we say everyone present is." Stonebanks said, "Kill anyone today? Blow shit up recently? How about you kids? Kill anyone? Before you start grabbing bricks to stone me at the hag, you take a look at your own hands for blood."

I flattened my hands out over my knees and just looked at them. He's right. I have blood on my hands too. Not to mention I made my first kill mere hours ago and didn't even flinch. Doesn't that make me just as twisted as that bastard? I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts. He was trying to get in our heads and I was letting him.

"But I digress. Business is booming right! A chopper there, a missile there. Knives, guns, whatever. When suddenly, a competitor. If you can call Uncle Sam a competitor. Hires my whole team, Barney and the others, to wack me. Things got ugly real fast and a whole lot of people got dead. Three former brothers in arms."

"You shut your mouth." Barney said, finally getting angry at the words coming out of Stonebanks mouth.

"Three Expendables. Our brothers. People we ate with, fought with, bled with, all dead! He puts three slugs into my chest. Thank god for body armour because even I thought I was dead. Then he boogies out with the casualties." Stonebanks was getting worked up and raising his voice now, "All dead because you couldn't stay out of my business!"

Barney took out his gun and stood up, "You shut your mouth!"

John and Thorn stood up and held Barney back but Barney still got the gun to Stonebanks head. Stonebanks was yelling at him, goading him, telling him to shoot. I swear Barney was about to but I wasn't going to stop him. I wanted this guy dead, so I just stood back and let the scene unfold.

"Stop! This is what he wants. He wants you to do this!" Thorn shouted, "Don't do it! Don't give in."

"Who cares if that's what he wants? Do it anyway! Problem solved!" I couldn't help but shouted.

"Everly! You aren't helping!" John shouted at me.

It was silent for a few moments and Barney eventually calmed himself down. He pulled the gun away and sat down. Thorn sat down next and John looked around at all of us before taking his seat again as well. Stonebanks started to laugh all of a sudden and I could help but think he wasn't just sociopathic, he was a certified psychopath as well.

"I can't believe you forgot." He laughed.

"What?" Barney said, on edge.

"You can't be the enemy when you're living inside your own head. So you tie me up like an animal, leave me to the slaughter. You humiliate me, disgrace me. Now when the time comes to kill you, and it will, I will not use a weapon. I will use my bare hands so that you feel what I feel right now. We were brothers." Then the next thing I know, Stonebanks head butts Barney and tries to fight his way out.

I immediately went for a knife in my holster while John and Thorn held down Stonebanks but it was already too late. A beeping could be heard and none of us knew what it was. It wasn't until we saw the red beeping light on Stonebanks watch that we realised what was happening.

"It's a GPS tracker!" Thorn shouted.

"How 'bout that." Stonebanks laughed.

Helicopters could suddenly be heard from outside and I knew what happened next wouldn't be good. A shot was fired and the van was overturned. I tried to brace myself but I wasn't able to catch myself in time and I knocked my head against the side of the van. After that, there was nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

When I woke up I was in some kind of cell, tied up like the others. I groaned as I looked around and noticed there were some guards. Stonebanks was there too, talking into a camera. He pointed the camera at all of us, giving us each a nickname of his own. I was still disoriented and wasn't really paying attention though.

A few hours later we were being moved and herded into a different area completely. It was like an old abandoned rundown city. We were tied up by our hands and hung from the ceiling. At least now we weren't gagged though, even if none of us felt like talking.

We were left here to sleep but were woken up by a bright light they decided to shine on us. We all squinted and looked toward the light to see Stonebanks walking toward us. He looked so proud and I wanted more than anything to wipe it off his face.

"This is what you get for being pawns in Barney's moral chess game."

"Why don't you just kill us already? We're expendable, hence the name? He isn't coming back for us." I snapped.

"Ah, Miss Fiesty. You know, if you weren't on the wrong side, I would probably want you on my team."

I spit on him and he grabbed my face roughly making me look at him, "Don't think I don't know who you are." He was angry at me, "At first I thought I recognised you from being the jogger outside the hotel. Nice try with the tracker though. It gave me reason to up my guards at the meeting and install a tracker in my watch."

He laughed but it was more evil than mirthful, "No, I recognised you from somewhere else too. He'll be back. In fact, he might even bring the whole damn crew considering your one of their kin."

He stood in front of Thorn next and pointed, "That one looks a little slack." One of the guards tightened the rope making Thorn cry out. He looked at Luna next, "You know, I feel most bad for you and Fiesty over there."

"I don't give a shit how you feel." She glared.

"I do. I have a daughter, I have feelings." He said, "You know when the CIA, I mean I'm assuming you work for the CIA. Am I right? I bet you don't even know who you're working for." He laughed, "For Barney? But do you know he's working for? Does he know who he's working for? It get's very confusing."

"Anyway. When the CIA wants people doing the dangerous work, in the dangerous places, they called us. When they didn't want to get their hands dirty, they called us. Yup, we cleared every hotspot they had. Bumped the bad guys so that the good guys could just roll in looking like heros. We killed a lot but we saved more lives than we could possibly imagine. Then…the boys on the hill wanted no loose ends and tried to bury me.

"I was an American, working for America. Was. They'd eat their own children. The lesson here is, never…do business…with the government."

I winced at the tight ropes but spoke anyway, "Are you done talking yet? You're voice gives me a headache."

He rubbed his temple but laughed a little as he came to stop in front of me, "You really should watch what you say." He back handed me and I whimpered, "That mouth will get you in trouble someday."

"Not before I kill you."

"You really don't know how to stay quiet do you?" He said, "You'll be the first one I kill then. Enjoy your time while you can."

Stonebanks and his guards left the room and I groaned as I opened and closed my mouth, "Man did that hurt."

"Do me a favour." John said from beside me, "If he comes back, don't say anything."

"I'm not making any promises."

It was day time now and I tried to look around but it wasn't working. I looked up at the ropes holding me to the ceiling and thought for a moment. If I tried really hard, I could lift myself up. I think I still might have that knife in my boot. My dad taught me always to have a back up; in a place no one would think to look. The problem is, my upper arm strength was never my best forte so I focused on other areas. If I tried hard enough though, I could do it.

I turned my hands the best I could to grip the rope and tried to pull myself up. It took a couple tries and the others eventually asked what I was doing because of the noises I was making. I ignored them though because I needed to concentrate on what I was doing. Finally I was able to use my core muscles to lift myself up enough in order to bend my body and bring my feet to my hands.

I grabbed the switch blade from inside my boot and let my body fall back to its previous position. I flipped the switch releasing the blade and started to saw at the rope. The blade I was using was the same one my dad threw at the lockers before we left for this mission. It seems he's always trying to keep me safe even when he doesn't realise it.

"Are you going to tell us what you're doing now?" Mars asked.

"I'm cutting myself loose." I said as I continued to saw. I was nearly there.

"Cutting yourself loose? How are you doing that?" He asked, seemingly amazed.

"Switchblade I kept in my boot." I said and finally, the rope was cut and I fell solidly on my feet.

I rubbed my wrists as I turned and looked at the rest of them, "So who's next?" I asked.

"Okay, that's pretty hot." Thorn said.

I jumped as the door flew open and six men marched in with assault rifles. I held up the knife and got into a fighting stance, even though I knew this small switchblade would do nothing against six assault rifles. I relaxed my stance though when I realised who the six men actually were.

"'You trained me well dad. I'll be fine,' she says." Lee Christmas said as he stopped in front of me.

"And I was right. Obviously." I said, crossing my arms and rolling my eyes, "I cut myself loose didn't I?"

"Hidden knife?" He asked.

"You know it."

He put his arm around me and gave me a side hug, "That's my girl."

The others were cut down but there was a beep in the corner as they all got to their feet. Stonebanks came onto a small screen in the corner of the room, telling us that the whole building was rigged to blow in fourty-five seconds and to say our goodbyes now. Barney walked over to the television and pulled down the lid to see a count down.

"He turned the whole place into a bomb." My dad said.

Thorn looked around and noticed the device attached to Gunner's wrist, "Maybe not." He said and took the device.

I'll roll with it. He did a lot with his device that looked like that, why would now be any different. The others were curious though.

"Excuse me." The old Spanish man said, "But what are you doing?"

"Just trying out some code. I should be able to jam the signal." Thorn replied as he worked as quickly as possible.

"Why didn't you think of that?" Toll Road asked Gunner.

"Well I used it to check the weather." Gunner tried to defend.

"Would you just shut up and let him do his thing!" John demanded.

I put my hand on his arm, "Calm down alright. Clear head remember?" I reminded him of the same thing he told me at the start of this mission.

I felt eyes on me and turned to see my dad giving me an odd look. I pulled my hand away from John immediately, not ready to have that conversation with him, especially not now.

Everyone started telling Thorn to hurry up and I just shook my head, "Stop telling him to hurry up. Rushing him won't help our situation."

"How are you so calm right now!" John exclaimed.

I shrugged, "I'm not. I'm antsy as hell. I just hide it well."

"Got it!" Thorn said, "Signal is jammed but we only have about twenty-five minutes until the battery dies."

"Let's get the hell out of here then." I said and started toward the door.

Doc went toward the window, "Hold up. Don't pop the bottles yet, we still have trouble. Big trouble." He said.

We all rushed to look out the window as well. There was an army headed straight for us and they even had a few tanks.

"You got lucky again bro but try to enjoy the view because shortly the building you're currently standing in will be surrounded by the Ismanistan Army." Stonebanks said.

"How did you shitheads manage to get captured anyway?" Gunner asked as if this was all our faults.

Mars flew off the handle and started to attack him and a frenzy started. Both John and my dad pushed me off to the side so I wouldn't get hurt and I had to roll my eyes as I watched the cock fight about to take place. Barney stopped it before it started though by shooting three rounds into the ceiling, effectively stopping everyone in their tracks.

"It is not an accident that we're all trapped in here! This is exactly what he knew would happen!" Barney shouted, "Us! Tearing at each other. It stops now! We can do this! But only if we do this together! If we work as a team we just may get out of this alive." Barney stopped in front of John, "Now, do you want to make it work? It's that simple."

"Do you got any weapons?" John asked.

I smirked and held my hand out to my dad and he rolled his eyes before passing me a few of his knifes. It would do, but I needed a gun as well. Turns out, they all came more than prepared. They had duffles loaded with weapons. I was passed an assault rifle and two pistols that I strapped to my back and hips. The knives I took from my dad were now in a holster I strapped to my leg.

"Okay, here's the plan. We're going to breakout into small groups and go out through the ground floor. Get ready."

"Ever, you're with me." My dad said.

"No I'm not." I said and he looked at me as if I had three heads, "If I'm with you, I'm all you'll be worried about. You'll be wide open to attack." I explained, "Sorry but I'm not going in your group."

"Fine but if you die. You're grounded." He said, using his pointer finger at me.

I raised a brow, "I'm twenty-one. You can't ground me. Nice try though." I said and followed the rest out.

I was in a group with Gunner, Toll Road, and John. We ran down the stairs, shooting the enemy when we saw them. I was over by a wall a few feet away from John and saw a red hat hold up a gun and I put four rounds in him before he could even pull the trigger. John looked back at him before looking at me.

"Thanks." He said.

"No worries." I winked, "I got your back."

I went over to the window ledge beside him and we both looked through our scope, shooting the red hats that we could see. We kept moving though, trying to gain some ground toward our exit.

Suddenly I was pulled back and I dropped my rifle. One of the red hats put his rifle across my chest and dragged me backwards. I used the momentum to drive him into an adjacent wall before elbowing him in the ribs, taking the rifle and knocking him as hard as I could in the face. I grabbed one of the pistols at my waist and put one round in his head.

"You good?" John asked.

"Yeah."

"Let's go." He signalled toward my left and we both hid around the next corner. Gunner and Toll Road were somewhere close by but we didn't have time to worry about them, "Anyone coming?" He asked.

"Hold on." I said and reached into my pocket for a compact mirror and flipped it open to look around the corner, "It's clear."

"You keep a mirror in your pocket?" He asked incredulously.

"Of course I do! I am a girl you know! Or did you not notice?" I snapped.

"Oh I noticed." He muttered and before I could analyse that statement, he spoke again, "I just didn't think you'd be worried about your looks in the middle of a war zone."

"I'm not but it's always good to have one just in case. Or did you not notice that I used it to see if we were clear?"

"Let's just get a move on alright?"

"You just don't like being one-upped do you." I said with a shake of my head.

"We'll have this argument later."

"Are you two done flirting?" Toll Road asked frustrated, coming up on my flank, Gunner coming up on Johns.

A red hat came into view and I immediately grabbed a knife and threw it, hitting him square in the chest, "I don't know what you're so frustrated about Toll Road. I think I've taken down more than you at this point."

"Tanks are firing!" Gunner yelled suddenly and ducked for cover.

John put his arms around my waist and pulled be behind a wall, covering his body with my own, just as the bomb from the tank hit and debris flew everywhere. I uncovered my ears and looked up into Johns eyes, surprised. He shielded me with his own body in order to keep me safe, when his first thought should have been of himself. I wasn't ungrateful but he needs to take care of himself because I can take care of me.

"You idiot!" I said, smacking his arm and pushing him away, "Protect yourself next time would you!"

"That's the thanks I get?"

"I can protect myself! We're not all going to survive if we're worried about saving everyone else! Alright?!"

"Alright! Geeze!" He said and we ducked as another explosion hit.

"Behind you!" I shouted and brought out my rifle and fired behind him, just as John fired his behind me.

We both turned so we were back to back, and turned in a circle, firing at the incoming soldiers. Gunner and Toll Road were down the hall more, taking out more soldiers on the ground floor. When the soldiers in our immediate vicinity were down, we ran to the broken window and started firing on the soldiers still trying to make their way into the building.

We kept firing but I noticed John stop when he saw a few soldiers on bikes. He turned to me and asked if I was going to be fine on my own and I nodded before watching him run off and knock one of the guys off the bike, and stick his gun through the tire of another, sending him over the edge of the building. John put on a helmet, picked up a bike and sped away, being a distraction for the tanks. It was amazing and if it was possible, I was even more attracted than before.

"Looks like your boyfriend has the right idea." Gunner said and ran passed me with Toll Road, effectively leaving me alone. The idiots, my dad was so going to kill them. I looked around and saw no immediate danger and used my compact mirror to look at the floor below. It was flooded with the enemy, so I decided I needed to go up and get back up before going down.

I jumped and grabbed one of the bars sticking out from the building, and swung myself up onto the next level. Turns out I should have checked this floor to though because I gave myself right to the enemy. I rolled to the side just as one of them was about to shoot and spun my body around, sweeping my legs under their feet. I jumped to my feet and did a low round house kick, then a high one, taking both of them down. I took out both my pistols and shot each in the chest. Another soldier came around the corner and I was just about to shoot him when Barney came by and shot him instead.

"I had him." I almost complained.

"I know you did." He said, "Let's go."

I followed behind Barney as he led the way through the halls of the broken building. Three soldiers appeared and I threw a knife at one before flipping my body and wrapping my legs around another guys neck and using the momentum to take him to the ground, as I landed on my feet again. I took out another knife and stabbed him in the chest. Barney just shot the other guy a half a dozen times which I thought was a little over kill but to each their own.

Others were coming though so we hid by a wall on either side of an opening. I got a knife out and as soon as one of the soldiers passed the threshold, I stabbed the knife into his foot and sent an upper cut to his chin before taking out my guns once again and shooting him. Barney and I stepped into the opening then and let loose on the five others that were there before continuing on our way.

"Barney, there's reinforcements." John said over the communication device.

Barney and I looked at each other before rushing to the window to see more tanks and more men headed our way. It wasn't looking good. There was no way we would be able to fight our way through all that. Barney seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Drummer, there's another wave coming. Our only way out is up." He said through his device.

"On my way." Could be heard through the device, "Evac in five."

"Everyone get to the roof now!" Barney ordered.

We ran as more soldiers found us and we ducked behind a wall after shooting them. Barney and I reloaded our guns ready to take down some more but grenades were thrown at us.

"Move it!" Barney yelled, pushing me forward and we ran.

We ended up having to run out onto the broken balcony to get away. Bazookas were being fired our way now though and we had to think fast if we wanted to get out of this alive.

"Go down!" I shouted and grabbed onto the edge of the building before swinging myself down and under onto the second floor.

Barney followed shortly after and I was on my knees as I shot at the incoming soldiers. Barney landed and stood, shooting the ones that I missed. I grabbed a couple knives and threw them, slicing the throats of a couple, before turning around the opposite side of the wall as Barney to shoot the soldiers that tried to surround us.

A couple of the soldier made it to us and I kicked one right off the edge of the building before elbowing another in the gut and stabbing him in the chest. Another soldier was about to shoot me but John road up a ramp, jumped off the bike and grabbed one of the bars sticking out from the side of the building. He was just hanging there as he took one of his pistols and shot the remaining soldiers before landing and grabbing the guns from them, tossing one to Barney and then to me.

"Is it always this easy?" He asks as he stops at a corner to look around it.

"Pretty much." Barney said as he ran passed him at his signal.

"John!" I called before he could take off after Barney.

He turned to me and I didn't give him any time to speak, I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my toes, kissing him deeply. He was surprised at first, considering this came out of left field, but he kissed me back just as deeply. Before it could go any further than that, Barney poked his head around the corner and looked at us.

"You can do that later. Let's go!" He ordered and left again.

I pulled back and looked at John, smiling before cocking my gun and taking off after Barney. John caught up quickly and Barney looked around the corner before telling us to keep moving. He stayed behind to make sure it stayed clear. John and I quickly crept around through the building toward where we were to meet the others.

"So what was that for?" John asked as he shot another soldier.

I threw my last knife at another and shrugged, "Whatever you want it to mean."

"What kind of answer is that?" He asked as I took a rifle from one of the dead men and followed behind him.

"A good one." I said and turned quickly when I heard someone behind me, "Don't sneak up like that. I could've killed you." I snapped at my dad and Doc.

"But you didn't." He said, "Let's get a move on. The stairwell is this way."

The others met up with us too and we continued on our way up, Dad in the lead. He stopped us all when we were one set of stairs away to the roof exit and started firing. It didn't seem to be doing much of a difference though. The opening was to narrow, the enemy had too much coverage.

"Drummer, we're pinned down!" My dad called into the device.

"Stop mumbling." Drummer replied.

There was an explosion and we all ducked for cover and then we heard the familiar voice of Trench, "Good Morning! Let's get to the chopper!"

We rushed up the stairs and out onto the roof and saw the chopper waiting for us. We ran to it but on my way I saw Yin Yang and stopped. Last I heard he was still working for that guy Church. I was about to say something when John stopped in front of me.

"Say hello later alright? Get on the chopper." He said, pulling me by the hand toward the chopper.

I didn't argue because he was right. There will be plenty of time to say hello when we're all safe and sound away from this building, alive. Once on the helicopter I looked around and we were all accounted for except for Barney.

"Dad!" I called and he looked back at me, "Barney's still down there!"

"I know! He's not coming through the speaker either."

"He'll be fine." John whispered in my ear from behind me.

"I hope you're right. I can't lose anymore family." I said quietly and when he squeezed my shoulder, I put my hand on top of his, squeezing back.

I completely ignored the look my father was giving me at this action because there were more important things to worry about. Like Barney getting out of this building alive. According to Thorn, there was only one percent left on the jamming device. That left about two minutes before this building detonated.

Finally we saw Barney coming through the door and start running as fast as he could toward the helicopter. The building started to blow, crippling beneath his feet but he just pushed himself farther. We saw him jump toward the helicopter but it didn't look like he stuck the landing and I could feel my eyes well up with tears.

I looked away, only for John to gently turn my head back to look outside as everyone started cheering. There was Barney, hanging with all his might, from one of the emergency ropes the helicopter was equipped with. I smiled and leaned my head back against John's chest as the tears fell. They were tears of joy though. My whole family made it out of this one alive, thank god.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Drummer brought us back to the air base that held the Expendables plane and let us all off before taking him, Trench, and Yang home in the chopper. It was good to be back on this plane but it would be even better to be back at home. That would come soon enough though.

I looked toward the cockpit to see Barney and my dad bump the side of their fists and smiled. Everyone was engrossed in their own conversations. With eleven of us on this plane there really wasn't much room to lay down and get some shut eye but I was just about ready to crash. I looked up at the jingling Dog Tags above me and smiled softly. I reached up and the tips of my fingers just grazed them as someone sat down beside me.

"So what are they?" John asked, looking up at the tags.

"The tags of the fallen Expendables. Most of them were family to me." I explained, "Some of them I didn't know very well, like Billy. He died two years ago on his last assignment. He saved enough to quite the Expendables and go marry a French nurse he met and fell in love with in Afghanistan."

"This life isn't for everyone." Was all he said.

"It's not, that's true. But what about you? Is it the life for you?" I asked and turned to look him in the eyes.

"It is. What about you?" He asked quietly.

"This mission definitely put things in perspective. Good and bad is not just black and white but…I do believe in what the Expendables do more than I ever did before so I think I'll be sticking around for awhile."

"Glad to hear it."

"My father won't be." I laughed and leaned back against the wall, "But I've never listened to him before."

"Why did you kiss me?" John suddenly asked.

I shrugged, "Because I wanted to. Do I need another reason?"

"I don't know." He replied.

"Well, if you come up with a solid answer, I'll come up with a solid reason. How about that?" I told him and nearly laughed when his face scrunched in confusion.

We landed in the Expendables hanger soon enough and I stood, stretching my legs. I really needed a shower and a goodnights rest. It didn't look like that was allowed to happen just yet though because when we all got off the plane, Barney decided to make an announcement.

"I wanted to say thanks to each and every one of you. You fought hard and you fought well. I know this mission was supposed to be a one off for the young ones but I've been thinking and I've talked it over with the others. Thorn, Luna, Mars, Smilee, and Ever, we would like to officially invite you to be part of the Expendables."

Ever brightened up and looked to her dad, "You really agreed to that?"

"It's not like you would have listened anyway. You're too much like your old man." My dad joked.

I hugged him, "Thank you." I said, "So when do we get our tattoos?"

"You're not getting a tattoo." My dad laughed, "You're exempt from that rule."

"I'm exempt? Is this you still trying to display some parental control? Because you lost all control the moment I turned eighteen." I said and turned to Barney, "You make the appointments and we'll show up. I want mine first thing tomorrow."

"Who's in charge here Ever?" Barney asked.

"You are." I muttered and crossed my arms.

"That's right, now let go."

Even though Barney reminded me about who's in charge, he did take my request. He called me first thing in the morning and told me to be at the tattoo place at ten. So I went and I sat in a chair for an hour and half, getting the Expendables tattoo on my left shoulder blade.

It took a couple days but once we all had them done, it was time to celebrate. So we threw a party at the usual bar to welcome the new recruits. The five of us were standing around a table, admiring each others new tattoo. I was wearing a grey off shoulder shirt so people could see mine. I paired it with black skinny jeans and my usual combat boots. Luna ended up getting hers on her shoulder while the three men got theirs traditionally on their forearms.

Of course, this celebration wasn't just about the new recruits either. Caesar just made it out of the hospital and was the other guest of honour here. He just made it through the door as well, so I left the others to walk up to him.

"Hey Little Christmas, miss me?" He asked.

"I did. I'm glad you're better." I said and gave him a hug, "Now let me buy you a drink to celebrate."

"Only if you let me buy you one too."

I smiled, "Of course."

We made it to the bar and he sat down between my dad and Toll Road. The Bartender gave out a round of shots and we toasted Caesar before another round came round to toast the newbies.

Some people would think its weird, going to the bar with your dad and drinking with him and his friends and having fun. To me, it wasn't weird at all. This is where I fit in and I loved every minute of it. I went up to the bar a little later to order myself a drink and as I waited for the bar tender, I felt someone come up behind me and move hair over my shoulder before blowing on my tattoo.

I looked over and saw John. He stood up straight and look at me intensely, "Is there something that you needed John?"

"Why do you call me John?" He asked.

"Because that's your name." I answered, confused.

"Everyone else calls me Smilee – also my name."

I shrugged, "I guess I just like John better."

"Why do you do that?" He asked.

I raised a brow, "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Shrug and brush things off as if they're no big deal?"

"Habit?" I said with a shrug and faced the bartender who just came over, "Two Rickard Reds."

"See, you just did it again." He said.

"I don't know what you want from me." I sighed and turned back to face him, leaning on the bar.

"Maybe I don't want anything. Maybe I just want you."

"Two Rickard Reds." The Bartender said, just in time to delay my response, "That will be eight bucks."

"Put it on Lee Christmas' tab." I said, taking them and handing one to John.

I immediately put the beer to my lips and started taking the longest swing of life. John must have got impatient though because he pulled the beer bottle away from my lips and replaced it with his own lips. It wasn't the most graceful kisses by any means, considering beer had spilt down my face from when he pulled the bottle away, but it was still wonderful.

I placed my arms behind his neck, pulling him closer to me and I vaguely heard a clink behind me. I assume it's from him putting the bottles on the counter, because both his hands were freely running down my back and settled at my waist. It was a long, deep kiss in which teeth scrapped and tongues clashed without permission from either of us but we didn't care. We both had dominant personalities and it so obviously showed.

Once we pulled away, we were both breathing deeply and looking at each other dazedly, "How can you want me? We barely know each other. We didn't even meet very long ago." I said breathily.

"Does it matter when we met? You feel it, I feel it and we have awhile to get to know each other." He said and kissed me softly before completely pulling away from me.

"No, it doesn't matter." I answered.

"So tell me then Ever. Why did you kiss me?" He asked.

"Because I needed to. Because I wanted to. Because…I wanted you." I finally said and looked to the side only to see my father with a hard look in his eyes, "It's not me you have to win over though." I said.

John followed my gaze and laughed looking back at me, "How hard could it be?"

"Well, think of it this way. I'm twenty-one years old and have never had a boyfriend before. And it wasn't from lack of prospects."

"I think he's going to have to get over that because he doesn't scare me." John said and stepped in his direction.

I stayed where I was, watching the two of them talk for a few minutes. They both had serious looks and it looked like some threats were made. In the end though, my dad started walking over to me and John smiled at me from behind before turning and talking with Barney. My dad leaned on the counter next to me and we both looked straight ahead.

"So John Smilee." He started off, "Are you sure about this one kid?" He asked.

I nodded, "I am. The question is, are you?"

"I like him Ever. He's much better than those other guys you brought around. The best part is, he's equipped with the skills to keep you safe. More importantly, he wants to keep you safe."

I looked to my dad, "You decided all this from one conversation?"

He laughed, "No. The others talked to me. Any man that will throw his body over yours, in the middle of an explosion wins major points in my books."

"Toll Road?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "He doesn't like anybody."

My dad laughed and I joined in before I was called up on stage for karaoke. I smiled at my dad, kissed him on the cheek, and went up on stage with all the other newbies. I was standing beside John as we sang and smiled when he put his arm around my shoulder. When the song came to an end, he jumped off the stage and brought me with him.

I was so happy, I couldn't even contain the feeling. I kissed John deeply before looking over to see what my dad was doing. He looked to be having a knife throwing contest with Doc and I laced my fingers with John, to pull him over to see. Doc and my dad were standing almost nose to nose as they each took out a knife and threw them with speed and precision toward the dart board. Both hitting the bull's-eye.

Doc's fell out of the board though, causing his smile to drop, "Best two out three." He said.

"No need." I said from between them.

They both turned to look at me and saw the knife I held in front of my nose. I let go of Johns hand and took a good five steps back so I was further from the dart board than they were and threw the knife. It flew right between their faces and landed right dead centre in the dart board, effectively knocking my fathers knife out as well.

"I so obviously win." I winked and took Johns hand again before turning to my dad, "We're going for a walk. Don't wait up."

Before my dad could say anything else, I dragged John out the door and into the cool night air. We walked for a few moments in silence, hands linked, just enjoying each others company when it was surprisingly John that broke it.

"What are we doing out here Ever?" He asked.

"Enjoying some alone time?" I asked more than said, "From the moment we've met we never truly had a moment alone to just talk. We were always surrounded by people and now we're not. We can go back if you like." I tacked on at the end, suddenly unsure of the decision to be alone.

"No, this is great. Maybe next time give me some warning." He said and then smirked, "We wouldn't want anyone to think you're kidnapping me."

I laughed and bumped his shoulder with my own. He let go of his hand and placed his arm around my shoulder, bringing me in closer. I breathed deeply, freely inhaling his masculine scent, not caring if he catches me this time. He laughed when he heard my deep breath and I just smiled.

"When you did that on the plane, I knew you were attracted to me."

I raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? That's when you knew?"

"When did you know?"

"When you threw yourself over me to protect me from the tanks. Which might I add is probably the only reason my dad likes you."

He stopped walking and turned to look me in the eyes, smoothing his fingers over my cheeks, "I would do it again, no matter how much you'd hate it."

He's right. I would hate it because it means he would be putting himself at risk. However, the sentiment itself made my heart swell and I attacked his lips with my own. He immediately started kissing back, pulling me as close to his body as possible, so that every inch of his muscle toned body was touching mine. I slid my hands up his drool worthy arms and around his neck, tightening my hold as well.

Everything about our contact was explosive. Our last major kisses were this way too. This time though, there was no war or a bar full of people to stop us. I pulled away and leaned forehead on his chest. I felt him smooth one hand over the small of my back and the other remained tangled in my hair. We were both breathing heavily; meaning neither of wanted to stop. However, we couldn't just stay in the middle of the sidewalk making out.

"You have your own place here in town now right?" I asked as breathily.

"Yeah, why?" He asked, slightly pulling away.

"Take me there." No other words were needed.


End file.
